Internal-combustion engine



Nov. 20, 1923 C. H. FERGUSON INTERNAL COMBUSTION' ENGINE Original Filed Dec. 27 1919 Ill 1 5 Sheets-Sheet l Nov. 20 1- 923 1,474,467

c. H. FERGUSON INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Original Filed Dec. 27. 1919 3 sheets sheet 2 I l L A-' anventoz Nov. 20, 1923 1,474,467

C. H. FERGUSON INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Original Filed Dec. 27 1919 3 sheets sheet 5 Patented Nov. 20,1923.

CHARLES H. FERGUSON, 0E VALHALL A, NEW YORK,

LIGHTING COMPANY, JERSEY.

ASSIGNOR TO HOME ELECTRIC OI EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW IN ETERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

Original application med December 27, 1919, Serial No. 847,775. Divided and this application filed October 29, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. F ERGU- SON, a citizen of the" United States, residing at Valhalla, in the county of West- .chester and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Internal-Combustion Engines; and I do 'hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

' My invention consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which represent one embodiment of the same, selected by me for purposes of illustration, and the said invention is fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

The object of my invention is to provide an internal combustion engine adapted especially to be combined wit'lfa crank shaft carrying a rotary fan for cooling the engine cylinder and supported by the sup porting fan casing so as to insure the proper alignment and connection of the parts, and the efficient operation thereof, the construction being especially designed for directly operating an electric generator, the rotary armature of which is carried by the engine shaft, and constituting therewith a portable electric power plant. Such a power plant is particularly adapted for lighting of suburban homes, camps and summer cottages, garages, boats, boat houses, barns and'out buildings, and other buildings or places where electric current for lighting, heating or power purposes may be desired.

This application is a division of my former application for Letters Patent of the United States filed December 27, 1919, Serial No. 847,775.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 represents an elevation of a portable electric power unit having my present invention embodied therein.

Fig. 2 is a vertical central sectional view of the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1.-

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view showing a portion of the engine cylinder, the

main shaft, the crank and engine valve mechanism, the parts being lllustrated 1n separated relation for greater clearness.

Serial No. 511,409.

Fig. dis a detail view of a portion of the engine shaft, and the ignition timing mechanism the parts being illustrated in perspective and in separated relation for greater clearness.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 'to 5 inclusive, 1 represents what I term the fiy-wheel housing which is. supported upon a suitable base 2 and constitutes in effect the main frame of the apparatus, and also serves as afan casing, as hereinafter described. This flywheel housing is provided with parallel vertical walls, 3 and 4, and a curved peripheral wall, 5, to completely enclose the fiy-wheel indicated at 6, which is provided with a' plurality of fan blades, indicated at 7 the fly-Wheel being carried on a main shaft 8, which serves both as the crank shaft of the engine and the armature shaft of the motor generator. In the organization of power plants in which an engine and generator are directly connected, much difficulty is usually experienced in securing the proper alignment of the crank shaft of-the engine and the armature shaft of the generator. I obviate this'difiiculty entirely by providing accurately aligned bearings for the armature shaft, and forming the engine crank separate from the armature shaft, and connecting the engine in accur-f rate operative relation to the crank and the bearings for the armature shaft, so that the parts may be readily assembled,

and will be positively held in accurate rela-- tive positions. To this end I provide the front wall 3 of. the fly-wheel housing with an annular aperture, indicated at 9, which is accurately bored and faced to form an annular guiding and positioning portion to receive a shouldered bearing plate 10, which fits the aperture 9 and is secured to the fly-wheel housing by screws or bolts in any desired manner so as to accurately center the shaft bearing carried centrally thereof. This bearing plate 10 is rovided centrally on its inner face with a hearing preferably of the ball bearing type, indicated at 11,

for the shaft 8, and the said plate 10 has cast with it a downwardly extending crank case, indicated at 12, which provides an annular portion 13 to which the engine cylinder 14 is bolted, thus accurately de termining the relation between the engine I cylinder and piston, and the main shaft 8. The inner face of the crank case 12, as best shown in Fig. 4, is provided with an annular recess 15 surrounding the shaft 8 and provided with a port. 16 communieating with a lateral aperture 17 connected, as hereinafter described, with the carburetor for supplying the explosive mixture to the engine. Within the recess '15 is located a rotary valve 18, see Fig. 4, which normally closes the port 16, while a cut-away portion, or port 19 in the valve, is adapted to open the port 16 once in each revolution of the valve. The valve is operated by means of an eccentric-ally located pin or stud 2O projecting from one face of the valve. and engaging an aperture 21 in a counter-weight portion 22 of the engine crank 23, which is formed separately from the shaft 8 and provided with a sleeve 2-1 fitting over a reduced portion of the shaft 8 and secured thereto by means of a spline or otherwise and held from longitudinal movement on the shaft by means of a set screw 25. In order to hold the rotary disc valve 18 firmly on its seat, I conveniently provide a disc or washer 26 (see Fig. 4) formed of thin spring material and shaped similarly to the disc valve and interposed between the disc'valve 18 and the rear face of the crank 23, and counter-weight portion 22, said spring disc being provided with an aperture 27 to engage the stud 20 of the disc valve. 28 represents the piston mounted in the cylinder 14, and being of the usual type employed in a two cycle engine. 29 represents the piston rod which is connected to the piston at one end, and at the other end carries a ball bearing 30 surrounding the crank pin 31, which is screwed into a threaded opening in the crank 23. The outer end of the crank case is formed with an aperture to facilitate the assembly of the partsof the crank and engine valve,

and this opening is closed by means of a plate 32 (see Fig. 2).

The engine cylinder 14 is provided with an inlet port33 and exhaust port 34 which may be connected to a muffler of any desired or usual form. The inlet port 33 communicates with a passage 35 alongside of the cylinder and connecting with a port 36 in the crank case, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so that the charge drawn into the crank case when the disc valve opens the port 16, and compressed by the outward or power stroke of the piston, will be transferred through the port 36 and passage 35 to the inlet port 33, to constitute the next succeeding charge for the cylinder. It will be understood that the cylinder will also be provided with'the usual spark plug or other ignition means, indicated at 37, and the lower end of the cylinder, which constitutes the head of the cylinder, is preferably provided with radially disposed flanges, spikes, or other form of projections. indicated at 38, for the purpose of rapidly radiating heat to facilitate the cooling of the cylinder. The lower end of the cylinder is also surrounded by a casing, indicated at 39, and communicating with a discharge orifice 40 from the fan casing or fly-wheel housing 1, so that the air drawn into the casing 1 by the fan and discharged therefrom will pass out through the aperture 40 and casing 39 directl over, around and past the lower end of the cylinder, with its radiating projections, and thereby assist in cooling the engine. I also prefer to provide the crank case with an exterior met-a1 shell 41 which is provided with air apertures 42, and the bearing plate 10 is also provided with aperturesindicated at 43, so that air may be drawn in around the crank case, thereby keeping the crank case and the crank and the adjacent bearing for the shaft 8 cool, these parts not being so highly heated as the engine cylinder, and the air is then delivered, as before stated, to the exterior of the engine cylinder. where it takes up additional quantities of heat. As hereinafter explained, I also provide for drawing the air in part into the fly-wheel housing of fan casing 1 from the portion of the apparatus enclosing the motor generator, so as to maintain it cooled also, and prevent the heating thereof.

he rear wall 4 of the fly-wheel casing is provided with an aperture. indicated at 44, the marginal portions of which are turned and planed coaxially with the aperture 9 in the wall 3. and said marginal portions are preferably provided with a guiding and positioning annular head 45 which receive an annular casing 46 carrying the field magnets 47 of the motor generator. The annular casing 16 carries on its outer end a bracket or casting 48 which carries the centrally outer bearing 49 of the main shaft 8, and also the brushes 50 of the motor generator. It will be seen that the provision of the lateral walls of the housing with coaxial apertures and guiding and positioning portions to receive the plate 10 and the casing 46 in which are located centrally the shaft bearings. insures in the first place the accurate alignment of the crank shaft with respect to the casing, and the crank case carried b plate 10. The further provision on the cran case of plate 10, of means for supporting the cylinder in accurate position with respect to the crank case insures the correct positioning. of the cylinder with respect to the crank shaft, and its bearings, 50 that the entire construction can be readily assembled by comparativel unskilled labor with the certainty that t e parts will be correctly Ill) positioned with respect to each other. More- 1 over, the crank is formed separately from the shaft, and this facilitates the assembling of the parts. It will also be seen that the fly-wheel is mounted between the bearings, which tends to reduce vibration and insure steadiness in operation, and the cylinder is supported entirely byv the crank case, and plate 10 on the cent shaft hearing, from the fly-wheel sothat the engine cylinder is at all times held in fixed relation with the crank case and the housing 5, and cannot lose its accurate relation to the crank shaft through vibration or otherwise. The shaft 8 as will be clearly seen, carries the armature 51 and commutator 52, the

outer end of the shaft extending through the bearing 49 and being'p-rovided beyond said bearing with a brush 53 for engaging a seg ment 54 connected with the igniter 37 of the engine, and the outer end of the shaft 8 is provided with the usual means, as projections 55, see Fig. 4, for receiving a. hand crank 56, indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2,

' a. detachable cover or cap 57 being placed over the end of the shaft 8 when the crank is not in use. It will be seen by the construction herein shown and described that the main shaft 8, which is both the armature shaft of the motor generator and the crank shaft of the engine, is supported in exact position with respect to the engine cylinder, and the crank, so that the correct operation of the respective parts for starting the engine and also for generating current is secured and maintained.

I conveniently employ an annular tank, indicated at 58, which surrounds the field magnets 47' and field magnet casing 46 and which will contain the supply of gasoline or other motor fuel, and. I prefer to add the lubricating oil for the engine cylinder directly to the motor fuel, and feed it therewith, although the engine may be lubri cated in any other desired manner. I also provide a shell or casing, indicated at 59, surrounding the armature 52 and brushes 50, and provided with ventilating apertures 60. It will now be seen that, as before stated,

' when the apparatus-is in operation, the air will not only be drawninto the fan casing or fly-wheel housing 1 from the apertures42 adjacent to the crank case, but a portionof air, which I prefer to limit by regulating the size of the openings 60 will be drawn into the shell 59 and will pass around the commutator 52 and brushes, and between the armature and field magnets, to the fan casing 1, thereby keeping all parts of the genenator cool, and as these parts do not become very highly heated, this air, as well as the air drawn in around the crank case, is discharged through the aperture 40 against the engine cylinder, and is still capable of taking large quantities of heat therefrom opposite side of the adja- I The motor fuel is taken from the tank 58 by meansof a pipe 61 which delivers it to the carburetor 62, which may be of any usual or desired construction. From the carbu-- retor, a pipe 63 leads to the passage 17 in the crank case communicating with the valve port 16 before described for supplying explosive mixture to the cylinder;

It will be noted that this apparatus is extremely compact, and in practice it is of such small size, that it may be readily carried by hand, and I have shown it provided witha handle 79 formedofsheet metal and connected by-strips 80 with adjacent por tions of the casing, veniently carried.

What I claim and desire'to secure byLetters Patent is 1. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of a supporting base and a fly wheel casing supported thereby, said casing having parallel walls provided with coaxial apertures and having on their exterior faces coaxial guiding and positioning devices, a bearing supporting means engaging each of said coaxial guiding and positioning devices on the said casing and being secured to the exterior faces of said parallel walls respectively, bearings located centrally in said bearing supports, one of said bearing supporting means being provided with an integral crank case formed with a face to re ceive an engine cylinder and hold it with its axis perpendicular to the common axis of said bearings, a cylinder secured to said face and supported entirely thereby, independently of the base, a shaft engaging said bearings, a balance wheel on said shaft between the parallel walls of the casing, a crank on said shaft in said crank case,'a piston in said cylinder'and a piston rod connecting said piston and crank.

2. In an internal combustion engine the combination of a main casing having parallel vertical walls provided with co-axial circular apertures and coaxial annular guiding and ositioning portions adjacent thereto, a circu ar plate engaging the guiding and positioning portions adjacent to one of said apertures, and provided with a centrally located bearing, a crank case and a supporting portion toreceive an engine cylinder with its axis perpendicular to the axis of i said bearing, a casing engaging the guiding and positioning portions adjacent to the other aperture in the main casing and pro vided with a centrally located'bearing,a shaft mounted in said bearings, a crank on said shaft within the crank case, a cylinder secured to and supported by said supporting portion of the crank case, a balance wheel carried by said shaft between said bearings, a piston in the cylinder, and a piston rod connecting said piston and crank.

3. In an internal com stion engine the llo combination of a main casing having parallel vertical walls provided with coaxial circular apertures and coaxial annular guiding and positioning portions adjacent thereto, a circular plate engaging the guiding and positioning portions adjacent to one of said apertures and provided with a centrally located bearing, a crank case adjacent thereto and having an aperture on its outer side, and a portion to receive and support an engine cylinder with its axis perpendicular to the axis of said bearing, a part circular in cross section engaging the guiding and positioning portions adjacent to the other aperture of the main casing and provided with a centrally located bearing, a shaft engaging said bearings, a detachable crank in said crank case secured to said shaft, a cylinder secured to and supported entirely by said supporting portion of the crank case, a piston in said cylinder, a piston rod connecting said piston and crank, a detachable closing plate for the aperture in the crank case, and a. balance wheel on the shaft located between said bearings and adjacent to the crank case.

4. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with a supporting fan casing having a supporting base and parallel walls, provided with coaxial circular apertures, a circularplate fitting one of said apertures and provided with a shaft aperture, and a shaft bearing located therein, said plate having formed integrally therewith a crank case, and a support for an engine cylinder, a casing engaging the other wall of the fan casing. and a coaxial shaft bearing carried thereby, a. shaft supported in said bearings, a rotary fan in the fan casing and secured to said shaft between saidbearings, a detachable crank in said crank case, secured to said shaft, a cylinder and apiston rod connecting said iston and said crank, said fan casing being provided with a single discharge aperture adjacent to and directed toward the head of the cylinder, and said plate being provided with air inlet apertures adjarent to the crank case for drawing in air around the crank case to cool it, the air being discharged upon the cylinder head to effect a further cooling action.

,5. In an internal combustion engine, the combination with a supporting fan casing having a supporting base and parallel walls, provided with coaxial circular apertures, a circular plate fitting one of said apertures and provided with a shaft aperture, and a shaft bearing located therein, said plate having formed integrally therewith a crank case, and a support for'an engine cylinder,

a casing engaging the other wall of the fan casin and a coaxial shaft bearing carried there y, a shaft supported in said bearings, a rotary fan in the fan casing and secured tosaid shaft between said bearings, a de tachable crank in said crank case, secured to said shaft, a cylinder engaging said cylinder support, a piston in said cylinder and a piston rod connecting said piston and said crank, said fan casing being provided with a single discharge aperture adjacent to and directed toward the head of the cylinder, and said plate being provided with air inlet apertures adjacent to the crank case, an exterior casing surrounding the crank case, and provided with air inlet apertures communicatin with the apertures in said plate, whereby t e air will be drawn in to the fan around the crank case to cool it, and will be discharged u on the cylinder head to effect a further coo ing action.

6. In an internal combustion engine, the combination of the crank shaft,supporting bearings therefor, and a crank case adjacent to one of said bearings, a cylinder secured to the crank case, a piston in said cylinder, a piston rod connecting said piston and crank, an annular valve seat in the crank case surrounding the shaft, an annular valve engaging said seat, said valve and the crank having the one a projection to en age an aperture in the other to effect the oint rotation of the valve and the crank, and an annular spring washer interposed between the valve and the crank and provided with an aperture engaging said projection to effect the joint rotation of said spring washer with the crank and valve.

7. In an internal combustion engine the combination with a supporting casing. provided with coaxial shaft bearings, and a crank case adjacent to one of said bearings, a cylinder secured to said crank case, a shaft engaging said bearings, a detachable crank in the crank case having a sleeve engaging said shaft, a piston in the cylinder, a piston rod connecting the piston and crank, said crank case being provided with an annular valve seat surrounding said sleeve, an annular valve surrounding said sleeve and en gaging said seat, said crank and valve having the one, a projection engaging an aperture in the other, and an annular sprin washer surrounding said sleeve and locate between the valve and the crank, and provided with an aperture engaging said projection.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES H. FERGUSON. 

